Improvement in clasps for hoop-skirts



UNITED STAT s PATENT OFFIoE.

SAMUEL R. \VILMOT, ()F BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN CLASPS F OR HOOP-SKIRTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,527, dated October 2, 1865.

To all whom it. may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL R. VVILMOT, of Bridgeport, in the countyof Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hoop-Skirt Clasps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which a Figure 1 is a plan view, showing the manner in which the blanks are cut or formed from the strip of sheet metal. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the blank from which the clasp is formed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side View of the clasp previous to being fastened upon the hoop or spring. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan View, showing the manner in which the clasp is applied to the hoop or spring to unite or fasten the ends thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention consists in a novel construction of a clasp for fastening together the ends of the hoops or springs of hoop-skirts, whereby all waste of material in the manufacture of the said clasps is effectually avoided, and whereby they are enabled to more securely hold the said ends of the springs or hoops together than the clasps heretofore devised for this purpose.

To enable others to understand the construction and operation of my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

In making the clasp, the sheet metal from which it isformed is first cut into strips of a width corresponding to thelength of the tinished clasp, one of these strips of sheet metal being represented in Fig. 1. .The blanks A, one of which is shown separately in Fig. 2, are cut successively from one end of the sheetmetal strip aforesaid, as shown by the transverse serpentine lines in Fig. 1, by means of suitably-shaped cutters, the two longitudinal edges of the blanks being formed with rounded tongues a, situated alternately with rounded notches b, the tongues on one edge of the blank being situated exactly opposite the notches in the opposite edge thereof, in'order that the tongues upon each edge may be fitted into the notches upon the opposite edge when the clasp is formed and applied to the spring or hoop, as will be hereinafter further explained. The two ends of each of the aforesaid longitudinal edges of the blank are made straight, as shown at c, in order that no sharp points maybe formed on the clasp, which it would be difficult to fasten down with sufiicient security to prevent the liability of their projecting outward and tearing the dress of the wearer. Inasmuch as the tongues a and notches b are of the same size and outline, and are cut successively from one end of the strip of sheet metal, as just hereinbefore mentioned, it follows that the notches b of one blank are formed by the cutting away and removal therefrom of the tongues a of the preceding and succeeding blanks cut from the same strip of sheet metal, while the tongues a thereof are formed in like manner by being cut out from the notches b of the said preceding and succeeding blanks, which will be understood more readily by referring to Fig. 1, in which the outlines of the blanks as cut from the strip of metal are shown by the transverse serpentine or corrugated lines. By this means the entire strip of sheet metal is cut into blanks entirely without waste, thus greatly reducing the cost of the clasps. The blank, being thus formed, has small raised projections formed on one surface, as shown at e, in Fig. 2, by punching or indenting the opposite surface thereof. The two longitudinal edges of the blank are then turned up at right angles to the central part thereof, in the dotted lines shown in Fig. 2, and

as more fully represented in Fig. 3-, the projections 0 being upon the inner side of the aforesaid central portion of the clasp.

The clasp in this form is ready to be applied to the spring or hoop B, which is done as follows: The two ends of the said spring or hoop are brought together and placed in the clasp, whereupon the two sides or edges of the said clasp are brought down and over the said ends, as shown in Fig. 4, thus firmly claspin g the said ends between the said edges and the central part of the clasp, or, in other words, between the tongues a and the said central part, and securely holding the ends of the hoop or spring together, the tongues 0. upon one edge or side of the clasp fitting into the notches bin the opposite side thereof, so that the said tongues, extending nearly or quite across the spring or hoop, hold it much more securely than if the edges of the clasp were straight and extended but half-way across the same, the holding action of the said tongues being considerably assisted by the projections e, which catch in the woven covering of the springs, and thus assist in preventing the ends of the spring or hoop from slipping out of the clasp. At the same time, the ends of the longitudinal edges of the clasp being straight, as shown at c, and hereinbefore fully set forth, there are no 'points such as would be formed it the outline of the tongues a extended quite to the ends of the blanks, and which would be liable to spring outward and tear an y fabric with which they might come in contact.

S. R. WILMOT.

Witnesses A. LE GLERo, J. W. OooMus. 

